"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand" -Chinese Proverb
Philosophy of Teaching
When you walk into my classroom, you will have difficulty finding me amongst the students. Students will be actively working in groups, acting like scientists engaged in lab investigations, inquiry activities and group discussions. My students learn by completing a challenge or producing a culminating artifact where all members of the classroom have equally contributed. In this learning environment, students come to rely on one another for assistance, cooperative learning and team building. There is no such task that is neither too elementary nor challenging for students.
My duty is to facilitate, question and guide students to become self-directed learners. One approach I intergrate into my classroom is a strategy called the "workshop model." To begin, I open the lesson by giving a challenge which immediately grabs the attention of all students to initiate engagement. Using anticipation surveys, cartoons, children's books, current events or pop culture to help break down misconceptions students may have regarding a new topic is a typical practice in my classroom. I call this "the hook."
Next, I describe my objectives and model a portion of the task at hand to the students to set expectations and establish goals for the period. Modeling in my opinion is one of the most important aspects of teaching for any age group. This includes thinking aloud while teaching students how to create and utlize learning strategies that will help them become independent learners. I call this going "back beyond the basics." Beyond the basics means teaching students how to learn, not exclusively what to learn. An example of this is coaching students how to read a text book properly or how to use critical thinking and problem solving skills by introducing strategies and tasks across the curriculum and incorporating this into each lesson to produce a well-rounded student.
The third component of the workshop model is student engagement. Engagement includes inquiry-based tasks where students are encouraged to learn by desiging their own questions and experiments to learn about a specific concept. This includes web and dry labs, group projects, jigsaw activities and class discussions. Throughout each, I act as a facilitator only, moving throughout the classroom, informally assessing students, asking higher level thinking questions and guiding students to acheivement. This time is used to promote critical thinking and problem solving skills. There is a clear distinction between leading a student to an answer or prompting a student to think about the information they need to aquire the expected results. My goal is to transform students into self-guided, independent thinkers.
The final component in this model of teaching includes a class discussion about student successes and failures during the investigations but also time to generate additional questions to explore in future classes. This is called reflection or debriefing. It is crucial for students to reflect on the task they have completed. Students must learn to self-assess and have the opportunity to revisit the investigation should time permit. More over, this time is also an opportunity for myself to learn how to improve my lessons for the future.
Bridging the Gap
Establishing a classroom culture based on risk-taking, self-discovery and cooperative learning is one of my primary goals as a teacher. Equally as important, there is alway an opportunity for students to strengthen pertinent life skills which parallell those required to succeed outside of the classroom. Such skills include critical thinking, problem solving and reasoning ability.
It is my opinion that the skills students need to succeed can be practiced in the science classroom each day but more so will help increase the chances for success as students enter the real world whether its college, military or the workforce. In addition to thinking skills, it is absolutely necessary for students to have the opportunity to utilize their writing ability, math skills, and communication skills in my classroom. My lessons heavily rely on incorporating skills from across curriculums in order to be a well-rounded learner.
I am both a teacher and a learner in the classroom. I dedicate time for reflection after each lesson taught to improve it and try it again. I am never fully satisfied with my work but rather feel that any lesson can always be better. Teaching is a journey full of successes and failures; however, my focus centers around personal and professional growth in my students and myself. I believe each individual is gifted with a set of skills and tools to become successful and accomplish certain goals. It is my duty as a teacher to help students realize their potential and work towards acheiving their goals.
I am not only a teacher but an anchor for my students. I am the teacher with my door wide open at all times for students who are in need of help and assistance. Whether it is difficulty learning about a concept or a personal crisis in or outside of school, I am always available for my students. I offer undivided attention, words of wisdom and my own experiences to coach the student along to overcome any barriers that are keeping them from success. I am the teacher that thinks about her students long after the bell rings at two o'clock but into the night thinking about how I can make a difference the next day. I dedicate all of myself to the students.
Philosophy of Teaching
When you walk into my classroom, you will have difficulty finding me amongst the students. Students will be actively working in groups, acting like scientists engaged in lab investigations, inquiry activities and group discussions. My students learn by completing a challenge or producing a culminating artifact where all members of the classroom have equally contributed. In this learning environment, students come to rely on one another for assistance, cooperative learning and team building. There is no such task that is neither too elementary nor challenging for students.
My duty is to facilitate, question and guide students to become self-directed learners. One approach I intergrate into my classroom is a strategy called the "workshop model." To begin, I open the lesson by giving a challenge which immediately grabs the attention of all students to initiate engagement. Using anticipation surveys, cartoons, children's books, current events or pop culture to help break down misconceptions students may have regarding a new topic is a typical practice in my classroom. I call this "the hook."
Next, I describe my objectives and model a portion of the task at hand to the students to set expectations and establish goals for the period. Modeling in my opinion is one of the most important aspects of teaching for any age group. This includes thinking aloud while teaching students how to create and utlize learning strategies that will help them become independent learners. I call this going "back beyond the basics." Beyond the basics means teaching students how to learn, not exclusively what to learn. An example of this is coaching students how to read a text book properly or how to use critical thinking and problem solving skills by introducing strategies and tasks across the curriculum and incorporating this into each lesson to produce a well-rounded student.
The third component of the workshop model is student engagement. Engagement includes inquiry-based tasks where students are encouraged to learn by desiging their own questions and experiments to learn about a specific concept. This includes web and dry labs, group projects, jigsaw activities and class discussions. Throughout each, I act as a facilitator only, moving throughout the classroom, informally assessing students, asking higher level thinking questions and guiding students to acheivement. This time is used to promote critical thinking and problem solving skills. There is a clear distinction between leading a student to an answer or prompting a student to think about the information they need to aquire the expected results. My goal is to transform students into self-guided, independent thinkers.
The final component in this model of teaching includes a class discussion about student successes and failures during the investigations but also time to generate additional questions to explore in future classes. This is called reflection or debriefing. It is crucial for students to reflect on the task they have completed. Students must learn to self-assess and have the opportunity to revisit the investigation should time permit. More over, this time is also an opportunity for myself to learn how to improve my lessons for the future.
Bridging the Gap
Establishing a classroom culture based on risk-taking, self-discovery and cooperative learning is one of my primary goals as a teacher. Equally as important, there is alway an opportunity for students to strengthen pertinent life skills which parallell those required to succeed outside of the classroom. Such skills include critical thinking, problem solving and reasoning ability.
It is my opinion that the skills students need to succeed can be practiced in the science classroom each day but more so will help increase the chances for success as students enter the real world whether its college, military or the workforce. In addition to thinking skills, it is absolutely necessary for students to have the opportunity to utilize their writing ability, math skills, and communication skills in my classroom. My lessons heavily rely on incorporating skills from across curriculums in order to be a well-rounded learner.
I am both a teacher and a learner in the classroom. I dedicate time for reflection after each lesson taught to improve it and try it again. I am never fully satisfied with my work but rather feel that any lesson can always be better. Teaching is a journey full of successes and failures; however, my focus centers around personal and professional growth in my students and myself. I believe each individual is gifted with a set of skills and tools to become successful and accomplish certain goals. It is my duty as a teacher to help students realize their potential and work towards acheiving their goals.
I am not only a teacher but an anchor for my students. I am the teacher with my door wide open at all times for students who are in need of help and assistance. Whether it is difficulty learning about a concept or a personal crisis in or outside of school, I am always available for my students. I offer undivided attention, words of wisdom and my own experiences to coach the student along to overcome any barriers that are keeping them from success. I am the teacher that thinks about her students long after the bell rings at two o'clock but into the night thinking about how I can make a difference the next day. I dedicate all of myself to the students.
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